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THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES by Jane Leade, June 1, 1699
"Ye can
discern the face of the sky, but can ye not discern
The Contents
1.
The Spirit of discerning given, with an account of the descent of
2.
A manifestation of the Second Heaven of Mount Zion and of the 3. A necessary warning arising upon this manifestation.
4.
Preparations for the Kingdom of Christ in the invisible regions; 5. That the Mystery of the Times is now beginning to be finished.
6.
Preparations for the Kingdom of Christ in the mansions of 7. An objection answered. 8. The Seven Signs forerunning this Kingdom.
9.
The Seven Signs following those who enter into the Kingdom,
10.
The manner of this Kingdom's entrance and the true Virgin 11. Of Angelical and Spiritual Generation. 12. The Gate of Paradise opened.
13.
The Ministration of Fire--called the Ministration of Elias
14.
The first Sound of this Horn--to invite the Kings and
15.
The second Sound of this Horn--to invite the Priests and 16. The Conclusion.
The Spirit of Discernment Given
For there are some who believe that such an age is coming on in which that prophecy might be fulfilled--that the earth should be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, from the inundation of those sanctuary-waters(11) which shall cover the earth with wisdom and understanding in the deep mysteries of God. For the confirmation of this, a fresh manifestation was given me by the appearance of a head that was all as of fine transparent gold, with only a pair of wings joining to it. Under each of these wings there were seven eyes all fiery and piercing. Upon which the first salutation greeted me saying, "Though thy corporeal eyes be dim, these eyes are come to make up that impediment. Their properties to thee shall be for you to see into the worlds and regions, that which is hidden to mortal sight." Then immediately I felt as if this head and wings did clasp themselves about the vital part of my heart. From thence it was said, the pure in heart should be all seeing, and the ears fixed in the golden head should become the true hearing.
And it was said to me that these great elders of the Kingdom of the Mount-Zion world did frequently descend(12) into the Paradisical world to them that were of a lower degree, bringing down commission and manuduction (being led by the hand) for what they were to know further and advance up to. Such were of the highest station in this Paradisical world and were assigned to bring the lower up to a more eminent degree, to pay their worship to great Elohim and to Him that had thus far redeemed them.(13) So by all this it was made known that the heavenly worlds are put into such a constitution and order that the inferior are under the government of the superior, and according to what they had wrought out in nearer conformity to Christ in this life, so they had their pre-eminence in their separate state.
God grant this may be a seasonable call to the potentates of the earth, that they bring their glory into the city of God, and may there reign as kings with Christ their Head.
For which, the kind and loving Saviour has also made provision and has condescended to commission spirits from the Paradisical region frequently to minister to them, to instruct and exhort them and make clear to them the large extent of Christ's purchase for them that they may gradually, by taking in the faith of it, come out of their uneasy confinement there. By all this instruction and exhortation, something of the immense goodness and love of the Creator to His apostatized and lapsed creatures is revealed. Also, there is a setting forth of the blessed rewards and high prerogatives to them that are of the firstfruits of the restoration and the suffering and loss of those that have loitered and neglected the prize put into their hands during the time of their living in this body.(15) Now it remains further to be declared what has been seen by the Cherubim's Eye, that runs up and down, both in the higher and lower spheres--that the Kingdom of the Lamb, so many hundreds of years prophesied of, is drawing now very near. For the sixth angel has already sounded his trumpet in preparation, that the slain witnesses might rise and appear as the two Olive-Trees.(16) These shall arise that they may plentifully drop their holy and pure golden grain which shall rise up to a mighty priestly anointed host into whose hands shall be given the rule and government of the earth, according to the pattern that was before described as to the ruling power and government of Christ the Lord in His Kingdoms there. So must it be accomplished in the lower parts of the earth.(17) This has been exercised in its power and might only in the heavens hitherto by the unfettered sovereignty of Christ. He has allowed Himself to be exposed in the members of His Body here on earth that have lain in great impotency and reproach under the reign of the Beast and the Dragon until the man of sin shall be revealed and the mystery of iniquity wrought out.(18) Then we may expect to hear the Seventh Angel sound his trumpet whereby the kingdoms of this world may come to their end as to their vain pomp and oppressive powers. Under these the whole creation has so long groaned. The cry of this burdened and embondaged state has ascended up and pierced the very heart of Him who is the restorer and deliverer out of all Babylonish confusion.(19)
That line of time is now far spent and the scenes of turbulent commotions will have their pass away as the great angel shall come to set his feet, one upon the sea and the other upon the earth. Then a mighty calm and quietness among the earthly inhabitants will be.(21) For the powers of eternity will make their descent into time among sanctified and prepared souls. These shall be marked and sealed with the Father's Name of Power which signifies nothing other than the restoring eternal nature in order to bring forth the similitude of God as it was in the beginning.(22) Then the Kingdom and dominion that Adam was deposed from will be repossessed again.
"Why such a prolonged expanse of time has run out and no visible appearance of this; neither before His appearing in the flesh nor since, as to make such a return again to the state which Adam lost? The prophecies and promises have run in such hopeful expectation for this and yet . . ." And it was answered, that there was a deep and hidden cause why so many generations should pass away in this visible principle under the mortal sufferings and death until the number-roll in the court of heaven was fulfilled and the mystery finished as to the time for filling up the other mansions of separated souls. When arrived at that set point, a turn and revolution will then follow upon the inhabitants of this visible earth that are reserved to this latter age of time, whereby a new model shall be brought in that shall resemble the heavenly world above.(23) There shall be a setting up of a divine monarchical sovereignty that shall rule over all nations by a rod of power in the hand of such as shall be found in the spirit of Moses and Elijah, David and Daniel, which shall multiply in this day of Christ's Kingdom numerously.(24) Because of this I heard mighty rejoicing and triumphant sounds in the heavens, that the Kingdom of the Lamb was upon its descent down into the earth. Therefore warning is given to those who believe and love its appearance, to keep their eye steadily up to the heavens for this glory to open and spread itself upon the dark earth.(25)
11. The sanctuary-waters mentioned here must be the waters of the Spirit in those who are the sanctuary of God. For it is out from this temple of the Lord that all must proceed for the next 1,000 years of Christ's reign on earth. As the Day Star is risen to its zenith to shine as the only light in the true city of God, that light and knowledge of Christ in His people must in turn begin to shine upon a yet darkened world, and the whole earth will gradually become enlightened. 12. This particular is gone into in greater detail in The Eight Worlds, another of her writings in which she gives a fairly complete treatment of the four heavenly worlds as well as the four dark hellish worlds. 13. God is not One to leave any work partially finished. It may indeed require much more time for the full and complete redemption of some of His lapsed creation, but He has not left Himself without those ways and means through which to bring a remedy to them. In the end, God's entire creation, with the exception of none, shall know a full restoration in and through Christ, and God Himself shall be all in all. 14. It is seldom that one finds those who truly value the spiritual things greater than the things of this world. It is the common manner of the many to hoard and store up in abundance the very things which, when used aright could contribute to their entrance into heavenly things. It was to this concept the Lord spoke when He said, "And I say to you, make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon , who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?"--Luke 16:9-12. The Lord is here saying to us that all that we have and think we own, we are but stewards of, and that we are to use the mammon of this world in such a manner that when we fail (die) we will have made friends to ourselves with the mammon of this world. In other words, think so much of the spiritual things (true riches) that we dispense the deceitful riches in that manner referred to as "laying up store for ourselves treasure in heaven." It is not that entrance into the things of God may be had by purchasing it with adequate funds; it is that we place proper value upon each relatively. In this day and age, that is seldom done. 15. It is because of such realities that we are so zealous for those of our brethren to let go of traditional dogma and embrace for themselves the truth of God's love made manifest in His infinite grace toward mankind. It is purely blind fear, which is the usual commerce of Babylon, that causes men to suppose that the truth of the "reconciliation of all" teaches that there is no hell, no torment and no punishment. The truth is, there is hell enough, torment enough and punishment enough which does exist for the neglectful and wicked to constrain us to tears without them ever being eternal and without end. It is to be much desired to have as much of redemption's work completed during this life as is possible. 16. We ought to keep ever in mind that the book of Revelation speaks in symbolism and metaphor and is seldom to be taken in a literal sense at all. The sounding of a trumpet by an angel (messenger) means that a particular message is going forth and the results of that message going forth by the sixth messenger is such that those appointed to it shall hear and have quickened within them that which is to produce the ministry of the two witnesses who shall, as two oil-filled olive trees, minister throughout the earth in this day. It is not two individuals that is here spoken of, but primarily the witness of two. Jesus said, "If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true" --John 5:31,32. The witness Jesus spoke of here is the witness of His Father. The two witnesses, that corporate expression of Christ numbering into the hundreds and perhaps thousands, shall speak from the throne of God, from God Himself, and because of this, those hearing them who are not willing to repent shall be tormented. The two witnesses are a people who are one with God and therefore with each other--that is one. The other witness is God Himself. 17. One of the greatest hindrances to the receipt of further truth is that we continually attempt to fit bits and pieces of truth into the confining compartments prepared and designated for it by traditional thought. If it will not fit or conform to traditional thought, it is often cast aside as untrue. Seldom is it considered that truth does not conform to because traditional thought does not compliment the truth. Thus truth, like Christ, is badly treated, cast out and crucified in favor of Barrabas (son of the father), the rebel and seditionist. (bar, means "son of", abba means "father") The one to whom freedom was granted rather than to Christ Jesus. This mighty anointed priestly host into whose hands the rule and authority of God's kingdom on earth shall be given is the Melchizedek Priesthood. There is not much to be found presently which speaks to the mysterious and mighty priesthood which is surely coming on in this hour, but it is much more glorious and mighty than has been yet described to us. Jane Leade speaks of it at length in her book, The Visions of The New Jerusalem, Part II, as consisting of three various orders and goes into some detail concerning each order. For those who may be interested, we do have that booklet on hand if you wish to order it. 18. Once again, let the reader know that whereas most of the Church and mankind, the saved and unsaved alike, are looking without for the accomplishment of these things, they who are wise are looking within for their unveiling and dissolution. The man of sin is seated within; the reign of the beast and dragon is within; the progressive breaking of the seals is within; the sounding of the trumps are within and therefore also without in order to bring their desired results within; the overthrow of them is within, and the coming and setting up of Christ's kingdom is within. As the kingdom of Christ is established within a people, it shall be and have the effect of that little stone cut out of the mountain without hands to the subduing of all the outward kingdoms of this world unto Christ. First within and then ultimately without. 19. As the cry of the children of Israel reached the ear and heart of God to bring forth a Moses for their release from Pharaoh and Egypt, so also has God in this hour heard the cry of His people and shall also raise up a people who shall be as the standing up of Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh to bring about the deliverance of His people from the hard servitude and bondage of sin and death. This entire servile creation shall eventually know the glorious liberty of the sons of God experienced first by that firstfruits company of deliverers. When the seventh angel sounds his liberating tones within them, they shall experience the long-awaited jubilee promised to man through the Seed of the woman. This shall then go on to propagate and increase throughout the earth as the little stone grows and becomes the mountain of the Lord which fills the entire earth. 20. That is, God has allotted a limited space and duration of time for the accomplishment of His remedies which shall bring an end to all miseries and heartache in Christ -- then shall be brought to pass that saying, "Behold, I make all things new" --Revelation 21:5. And we are further told that this saying, along with all the others found in this book, are true and faithful! 21. This great angel is He which subdues all things unto Himself universally, planting His feet upon both land and sea. This shall indeed produce a quiet throughout, for it is upon the cry of this mighty angel that the seven thunders utter their mysterious voice, which mystery the seventh angel is about to echo in our day to the bringing an end to an embondaged creation. We make a mistake, I believe, if we think that the events in the book of Revelation are to proceed in some timely chronological order, one neatly after another. For there is no doubt but that some are occurring simultaneously. While the cry of this great angel does produce the voice of the seven thunders after which the seven sounding messengers begin to sound forth with their trumpet-messages, coming eventually to the seventh angel who produces lightnings, voices and thunderings and an earthquake and great hail--the ultimate outcome of all this is great quiet and great peace as the New Creation of God is established in some. 22. This deputation shall commence during the opening of the sixth seal as a people are taken higher than the sun of reason can shine, higher than the moon of the sense life can shine, to the place where even the starry imaginations are cast to the earth as untimely fruit as every thought is brought into captivity to Christ. After this comes the bringing down of all the kingdoms of this world into subjection to Christ. 23. This means that the whole order of things concerning government as we now know it is to be changed. To this end must the sixth seal be opened in a people preparing the way for the seventh trumpet sound, that the kingdoms of this world might become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. When this finally finds expression in the outward realm it will have as dramatic effect upon that realm as it first has upon a people within whom it is first accomplished. For, the next 1,000 years are to be unequaled in the annals of mankind and entirely without precedent. The great whore must be destroyed, the beast and dragon cast into the lake of fire, Satan bound for the thousand years and the bride's goodly influences be brought to bear upon the establishment of Christ's reign upon earth and entire nations submitting themselves to this beneficent government. There has never been anything like it upon earth. This shall show forth the fulfillment of that prayer, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" --Matthew 6:10. 24. What was the spirit of Moses, Elijah, David and Daniel but the uncompromising spirit of Christ in them? 25. This appearance of the Lamb, for which the whole Church is eagerly looking after various manners, cannot make its appearance on earth without first making its appearance in earth. It cannot appear in the outward visible realm until it has begun to make its appearance within a people. We are told that it does not come with observation so that men may say, "Lo, here or lo, there." We are told that it is within us. This people in whom the kingdom must first make its appearance are the City of the New Jerusalem come down from above. They do not descend physically from "up there some place", as some carnally think, but descend spiritually from that higher realm which is their birth place and nativity, to that realm in which most of the Church and humanity insist upon living. Only those who have ascended in spirit with Christ to God and to His throne are able then to come back into this present lower realm and minister out of the glory, power and life of that higher realm. It is the realm out of which Jesus ministered before His death and resurrection of which he said, "No man hath ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven" --John 3:13. It has nothing to do with geography. 26. The fact that those of the early church era believed that the time of Christ's appearing was then at hand when it is obvious that His kingdom was not at that time established upon earth, is not evidence that those laboring earnestly under such a faith in any significant way came short of their goal. We are told in Hebrews 11:13 that "these all died in faith, not having received the promises", but they were able to progress to a good degree in the faith so that when the time for the actual bestowal of the promises arrives, they will have no need of further processing from the Lord. Their goal was to have part in the first resurrection (I think it is both interesting and informative that their blessed hope was not a rapture but a resurrection). There is every reason to believe that they attained to that goal, and when the time of the first resurrection arrives, when the final message-trump is sounded, they will hear it and arise in it. For I do not believe that any, dead or alive, can hear the sound of the last trump unless they are living (or died while living) in the sacrificial spirit of the blood of the Lamb.
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